Abegail McHugh's Story

Abegail fought the man's grip as he shoved her towards door and down the stairs. They approached the waiting vehicle. Through clenched teeth Abegail was hissing every curse and swear she knew, both in Irish and English.

She didn't know what they were doing to Gunter or Walter, she knew she hated this man with his grip on her and she knew she hated being pushed around. Abegail tried to stop, step on Niclas' foot as she had the other soldier. For her effort she was rewarded with a twist of one arm painfully up her back and sinister laugh into her ear.

He began to shout at the man waiting near the car. His back was to them and with each ignore shout from Niclas, Abegail's arm was wrenched further up her back. She yelped angrily. “He canna hear ye!” She turned her head to look up at Niclas.

The man, malice in his eyes looked down at the Irishwoman. He twisted her arm a bit more, watching for the show of pain in her eyes. Abegail's eyes teared up but the anger still burned. Once a tear began to fall, Niclas was satisfied with her reaction and loosened just a little.

He began shouting to the officer again and still he was ignored. Abegail felt a bit of satisfaction at Niclas' frustration. She felt him loosen his hold on one arm as he pulled his gun. Abegail contemplated possible ways to finally break free when Walter turned to look at them.

Niclas' shocked allowed the perfect opportunity. Spinning, she wrenched her remaining arm from his grasp, ignoring the pain. Her other hand clasped the gun and she pulled it along with her. With both hands on the gun she pointed it at the man who had killed her parents.

Abegail barely registered as Walter raised his weapon higher. Niclas spoke, not to her but to Walter and he dared to mention her parents and the blasted flag.

She barely hid her shock as Walter lowered his gun and looking at her, walked away. She wanted to call out to him but did not.

Niclas turned to look at her. Her eyes were still a light with anger but now confusion clouded them.

“Will you shoot me Fraulein? Will you pull the trigger?” Niclas stared at her.

Abegail was breathing heavily. “You do not deserve to live.” Her voice was oddly calm, clear and precise.

Niclas smiled. “Really? Are you to be the one to decided that?” He took a step towards her.

Abegail exhaled. “Do not move.”

Niclas, “Do you think you could do it? Could you kill a man? Do you have it in you Abegail?”

She looked startled for a moment, the use of her name from him unnerving her. “You are not a man.”

Niclas, taking two more steps towards the woman, “I am simply a man who had a job to do. Can you kill a man for doing his job...Abegail?” He used her name again, hoping to shake her more.

Abegail shook her head, “Stop.” It was barely a whisper.

A shot rang out and the sound of footsteps on the pavement sounded.

Abegail felt the gun recoil in her hand. She realized she had closed her eyes, an instinctive reaction to the shot. She didn't hear a body hit the ground. Her ears were ringing, she wouldn't hear much of anything.

Hands were on arms, pushing her backwards. Abegail still had the gun. Without thinking she pulled the trigger again.

This time she fell to her knees as did the man in front of her. Niclas had one hand on his leg and one reached up to grab Abegail by the throat.

“I am a man but I am not so easy to kill....” He squeezed and stood, pulling her with him. Abegail clawed at his hand.

Niclas snarled. “Dr Rivers...you should not have left the Fraulein alone. Come out now.” Letting his leg wound go to grab the gun that sat at his feet now. He aimed it Abegail's stomach. “Come now Dr Rivers....do not make me kill her. Not yet.”

He squeezed and Abegail's eyes went wide as she began to lose air.

Niclas could hear the last sonic remnants of Adalfwolf's jeep as it spat dust and rocky debris from beneath its burning wheels, now driving beyond target range of his small caliber pistol.

The Nazi knew that it was very important to hunt down Adalwolf and retrieve the Blood Flag from his grubby clutches, but first he was going to deal with his long time enemies Walter Miller and Abigail Mchugh.

Niclas had a particularly strong hatred for Abigail in particular, front and foremost was the fact of her gender, one which Niclas deemed inferior.

Second to that was his disdain for her heredity and nationality. Niclas viewed all Irish peoples as drunkards, Niclas disliked Walter for similar reasons. He being from the "colored laden" lands of South Africa.

Having Been formally under the yoke of the Britannic states enhanced his immense disgust for the country and its peoples. Such was the ignorance and prejudice's of Niclas Elberich.

Only seconds after the Nazi' demands and threatening of Abigail's life Niclas heard a single click of the hammer from the firearm which had been placed behind his left ear.

"How did you!?...."

The Nazi had assumed that professor Miller had somehow quietly slipped out of the museum and by stealthy maneuvers had gotten behind him. But upon turning Niclas realized that the weapon which was now pressed against his forehead, did not belong to Walter Miller, but to one of his own men.

"I am sorry Herr Elberich, but I will not go through the horror of yet another world war." Came the words from the remaining SS Officer.

The pivot of his turning had forced Niclas to release Abigail from his grip, giving Abigail the break she needed to distance herself from her archenemy. The Officer cocked his head to the right and spoke to the professors.

"A jeep awaits you behind the museum, take it and retrieve the Blood Flag from Adalwolf before he resurrects Armageddon."

Abigail immediately joined Walter within the museum before heading for the vehicle. Driving away they had left Niclas Elberich in the seemingly capable hands of the young SS Officer.

There was only one piece of tell-tail evidence with which to determine a possible destination for Adalwolf's and his desires were the tire tracks left by the wheels of his army Jeep. Following these scant few clues Walter and Abigail traced Adalwolf's whereabouts all the way back to Lintz.

Once the jeep had crossed beyond the dirt roads and into city streets the Adalwolf's trail was lost.

The Jeep came to a sharp stop at the edge of town. "Where would Adalwolf take Gunter?" Abigail contemplated.

Walter followed with his own concerns. "Where would he go to test out the Blood Flag.?"

At that point the two professors turned to look at one another, both remembering the corpses in the secret compartment beneath the library.

Abegail was too focused on Niclas. She didn't hear the other man approaching, didn't see him step behind Niclas. The click of the gun jolted her. Her surprise clear in her face.

He turned jostling her in the process. Abegail frowned. Niclas gripped her harder to hide his shock. He was trying to keep calm, that much was clear. He finished his turn, facing the officer fully on and Abegail felt the grip loosen.

Backing away from him slowly, not wishing to bring attention to herself, Abegail watched the two officers.

She stared as the officer addressed her. She didn't even bother to nod, simply turned and began to run, heading into the museum.

“Walter...I....Niclas...” She looked over her shoulder. She wasn't sure exactly what had happened but she knew she was free and that is what mattered.

Abegail pointed to the door out, “Jeep. Waiting for us.”

Abegail let Walter drive. As she sat in the passenger seat she became aware of how much her hands were shaking. Walter watched for signs of where Adalwolf had gone and Abegail was barely paying attention.

She had shot a man. A man she hated but she had shot him. Abegail was half way between tears and anger. Her eyes burned as she came to terms with trying to kill a man. Her anger burned almost as much that she hadn't actually killed him.

The jeep stopped, forcing her forward in her seat. Abegail's hands went up to stop herself from falling out of her seat. She looked around, suddenly remembering the boy. “Where...were would they go?”

Abegail's mind was trying to catch up to events. Walter asked where the flag could be tested. Abegail's eyes met his. “Library.”

Abegail was horrified. Adalwolf had the flag and Gunter. They had to get there and they had stop him.

“Walter...go...we have to stop them.”

Abegail's fingers gripped the dashboard, knuckles white. Their only chance was to get there before the man did anything to the boy or used the flag.

The boy had pulled a fast one on Gottberg, he had managed to steal the pistol from Adalwolf's thick fingers. Gottberg hadn't thought the tike had it in him and so he wasn't holding his weapon with any great strength, allowing for the ease of Gunter's actions.

Gottberg couldn't help but smirk at the prospect of being held captive by a youngster.

There was only one remedy for this situation, an abrupt and sudden stop. Gottberg slammed his foot down on the break peddle, Adalwolf had an opportunity to brace himself, whereas Gunter was totally taken by surprise.

Gunter was forced to drop the weapon in order to prevent being slammed against the dashboard of the jeep. The heavy pistol thumped down upon the floor beneath the passenger seat, Gunter fumbled for the weapon, but before he could retrieve it Gottberg grabbed him and then pushed the boy out of the car.

Gunter hit the ground with a hard thud, giving Gottberg ample time to get out from the drivers seat and walk to the opposite side of the Jeep, approaching the bruised boy Gottberg demanding that he enter the library.

By this time Walter and Abigail were drawing closer to their intended destination, finding Adalwolf's vehicle parked in the middle of the street Walter pulled his jeep up beside it, positioning it nearer to the curb.

After pulling up to the curb and getting out of the vehicle Abigail and Walter made their way toward the library, they had stopped suddenly when they noticed two American soldiers walking down the sidewalk toward their position.

Not knowing if they could trust them they tried their best to remain anonymous, trying to act like a couple who were simply out for a day of sight seeing-Hoping the soldiers would not notice that they had dirty faces and road dust covering their cloths.

They were relieved to discover that had been extremely lucky, or perhaps the soldiers simply did not know who they were. Counting themselves lucky they continued to walk toward the main entrance of the library.

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"This man is a Nazi!!" Came the call from the frightened boy, his revelation showed its effect as every single person within the library instantly and in unison, turned their heads in surprise and fear. Fortunately, it was getting later on in the day and as a result there were relatively few visitors in the library.

The few visitors were slowing moving toward the only point of escape.

"Törichter junger Mann" shouted Adalwolf.

Adalwolf pulled his pistol out from his trench coat and fired several shots at the ceiling above him, the sudden burst of gunfire sent the visitors running for the exit.

_____________________________________________


Walter and Abigail were slowly walking to the entrance when the sound of gunfire tore through the air. Without hesitation the two soldiers ran for the door, pushing several citizens out of the way, and shouting orders.

Abegail slipped out of the vehicle. She wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen but she was determined that they would not just roll over, not now.

She spotted the soldiers and thinking quickly linked her arm into Walter's. She fell into step beside him. A woman on her husband's arm, nothing more. Her head turned, inspecting the buildings as anyone out for a walk in the pretty little town might do.

Painfully aware of how dirty her face, hands and clothes would be Abegail kept her gentlest smile and prayed they would think nothing of them.

Her concern grew into a knot in her stomach as they came closer. She held her breath. The soldiers passed and the pair moved towards the library entrance. Abegail wanted to speed up but stayed with Walter, attention now would be a bad thing.

No sooner had this thought passed when the sound of gunfire willed the air. There was chaos as people on the street panicked and the soldiers pushed passed whomever was in the way to get into the library.

Abegail released Walter's arm and ran up the to the library. She opened the door and stepped quietly inside. She headed to her right and ducked behind the closest table. She crouched and moved slowly towards the shelves. Abegail wanted to remain hidden from Adalwolf at least until she could figure out a way to stop him if the soldiers didn't kill him first.

She could see others cowering and others still trying to escape the gun brandishing man. Making it to a shelf she crouched down again and peered around it. She hoped Gunter was alright, that was her first concern. The next was what the man had done with the flag.

The two American soldiers rushed into the library with their weapons drawn, once inside they were surprised to find that the action was up near the main entrance; the soldiers had slid some distance across the marble floor before coming to a stop a mere 30 feet from the assailant and his prisoner.

"Halt. You there, put down your weapon!" The shorter of the two officers called out to the large man in the long black trench coat.

Adalwolf raised his weapon and held it in a non threatening position, though never relinquishing his firearm.

Gottberg barked out his demands "Adalwolf, speziellen Zweig 8675. Stand Down!"

The two American soldiers immediately lowered their weapons and then snapped to attention.

"I am taking the boy into one of the private rooms. Do not disturb me." Adalwolf said as the last of the visitors left through the main exit.

Turning back to Gunter and placing the gun against his head. "Walk boy!".

Turning his head Gottberg uttered his final command. "No one is to enter the library!" The soldiers followed Adalwolf's demands and turned around to face the main entrance, their weapons at the ready.

Walter was now barred from the library, it was up to Abigail to think of a plan which could get Walter into the building.

Abegail watched the soldiers call for Adalwolf to put his weapon down. Her shoulders slumped as she heard him bark out an order and the soldiers complied.

No one was left in the library but herself, the American soldiers, Adalwolf and Gunter. Abegail began to slip into the stacks, avoiding the main door's line of sight as she tried to follow the pair to one of the rooms.

She needed a weapon. He had a gun and Gunter at the end of it. Abegail licked her lips and began to look around. She scanned the shelves. Large heavy books, unwieldy...

Abegail was frustrated. The American soldiers had blocked the door which meant unless Walter could get to another entrance she was alone in this. She wished there was a way to remind him about the hole that Niclas had blasted into the secret room. If Walter could get into the hole then he could get into the room and then into the library.

Her hand brushed the shelves as she considered her options. Fingers touched something cold, metal...Abegail looked at it. It was a sculpture, a miniature metal replica of a cannon. Not too heavy that she couldn't lift it or swing it and good enough for it to do damage if it made contact.

Abegail picked it up and began to move quietly towards where Gunter and Adalwolf had disappeared. Occassionally she looked behind her to ensure the two men did not see her.

She could not hear anything as she approached the room. The weight of the cannon in her hands was comforting. “Damn it Walter...get yer arse in here...”

Abegail focused on the door and stopping listening she hoped to hear anything, giving her a opening to come in and help Gunter.

Adalwolf had chosen a room which Abigail knew all too well, it was the same as the one she and Walter had entered almost days ago, the room with the body. Though the two professors had assumed that the bodies and the man and woman beneath the library were decoy bodies and not that of the real Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, Adalwolf apparently knew differently.

By the time Abigail had made her way into the private room with the familiar hole in the marble floor Adalwolf had removed his trench coat and the Blood Flag and set them down beside him. After forceing Gunter to his knees before the two wrapped up corpses and bound his hands behind his back, he then used the remainder of the same robe which he had used to tie the young boys hands and secured him to a near-by pipe.

With Gunter stuck in the corner and out of the way Adalwolf began to set up for coming task of raising his master from death's sleep. With Adalwolf's back to him Gunter immediately set out to make his escape.

Abigail had wondered why Walter hadn't used the makeshift entrance which was provided by the homicidal Nazi to gain entry into the secret room. The fact is that it had totally slipped Walter's mind, he being far too concerned for Abigail and Gunter's safety. The entrance would however be put to good use by someone else.

Gunter was horrified when he saw the bodies. They were surely Hitler and Eva Braun. So that's where they went. They were here the whole time. And now they were not going to be bodies. They were going to be alive, and there was nothing he could do about it. He followed all of the Nazi's instructions as his mind spun for an escape route. He saw none. There seemed to be no hope when he looked up and saw Abigail crouched in the doorway. Abigail? How did she get here? She must have followed Adalwolf's car to the library. But where was Walter? Gunter looked around hopefully, but the professor was nowhere to be seen.

Then Gunter realized - Adalwolf's back was to him. He couldn't see the captive boy. So he instantly began to struggle as silently as he could against his bindings. After maybe two minutes, he had loosened the grip on his wrists. Almost there... He froze as Gottberg turned around once, but then he turned back around and continued whatever he was doing. With a jerk, Gunter freed one hand. Then, with that hand he freed the other one. He saw the Blood Flag lying on the ground beside the large Nazi, very vulnerable, and he got an idea. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, then ran across the room, making a beeline for the Blood Flag.

Abegail slipped into the room quietly, knowing the officer and the boy would be down the ladder and into the underground room by now. She pushed the door closed with her hip, letting it quietly click. Abegail grabbed a nearby chair and shoved it under the handle. It would be enough to slow those two American soldiers down should they try and get in.

Carefully and quietly, cannon in hand, Abegail crawled to the opening and looked down. No one was immediately by the ladder and there was now light in underground room. She could see the boy tied to a pipe and the large man, devoid of his heavy jacket doing something. Gunter looked up, he seemed to be struggling with the bindings on his wrists.

Abegail placed a finger to her lips, gesturing for the boy to say nothing about her position. Abegail quietly stepped down on the ladder. She watched Adalwolf closely as she balanced the cannon on one arm. A second step down and now she held her breath. The man seemed to absorbed in his own work to care what Gunter was doing or anything else around him.

By the time Abegail was perched on the third rung of the ladder she saw Gunter's restraints fall free of his hands. The boy made a run for the flag. Abegail decided to use this to her advantage. With her left hand she gripped the cannon by the barrel and launched it at the back of the Nazi's head. As it left her grip she practically jumped the rest of the way down the ladder.

The heavy metal sculpture flew in the air, moving downward with just enough force to smack the man in the back. The wheels connected at the base of his neck, while the barrel smack soundly into his head.

Abegail didn't bother to see what he did, she heard him yell in pain and attempted to follow Gunter.

“Go! Out the hole in the wall!”

She was running, just on the boy's heels as he ran with the flag towards the opening in the wall. Niclas had blown it open days earlier and this was the first time Abegail was seeing it conscious. She had no idea where it would lead but she knew at some point it would be out.

Behind her she could hear Adalwolf moving, recovering from the blow of the cannon. She refused to look behind her.

“Run Gunter!”

Gottberg was recovering from the injury to his head as Abigail and Gunter ran through the hole in the cavern wall. Beyond the small opening was yet another tunnel roughly 80 feet in diameter with a ladder leading up to the street level just behind the library. This point of egress lead directly into the alleyway behind the structure and standing at the left end of this ally was the dreaded Nazi Niclas Elberich.

Half hidden by the overshadowing building next to the library Niclas was slightly obscured, but by the time they realized it they had already ran in that direction and were now only 13 feet from him. Slowly walking backward they attempted to flee from him, only to have the other direction blocked by the bulky frame of Adalwolf.

The large Nazi moved toward them as they back away once more in the opposite direction nearer to Niclas, they were completely trapped.

The two Nazi began to argue over who would claim the Blood Flag for their own.

"Niclas, the flag is mine!" Came the first claim for the object in question.

"No, my friend. It is mine, mine to do with as I will. Mine to resurrect and command an army of the undead, an unstoppable force which will trample over this miserable planet. Then I shall erect a new world order comprised of the strongest of my regime of Neo-Nazi warriors, with myself as sole leader. I will not resurrect the Fuhrer."

Niclas' revelation stunned and angered Gottberg. "How dare you, Hitler is the only one who will rule over this planet." Abigail and Gunter found himself stuck in the middle of an impossible and terrifying prospect, one which might bring to fruition Hitler's claim of a thousand year rung of Nazi supremacy.

Gunter grabbed up the Blood Flag as he heard Abigail hit the ground behind him and Gottberg yell. 'Go! Out the whole in the wall!' came Abigail's voice. He redirected his footsteps toward the hole. 'Run, Gunter!' He ran through the tunnel, up the ladder, into the street and through the alleyway. However, the way was now blocked by the man Gunter had come to hate - Niclas Elberich. No matter how many times this man died, he still seemed to foil them at the last minute. "No!" Gunter whispered as he slowed to a stop. As he turned to run the other way, he found that way blocked by Gottberg. Gunter stood amazed as the two began to argue like children. And then he was equally amazed as Niclas proved himself to be more selfish than Gunter thought humanly possible.

"Enough!" Gunter shouted, grabbed the Blood Flag in his teeth, and yanked as hard as he could. It hurt his teeth and tears stung his eyes. Gunter squeezed his eyes shut tight and yanked again, grunting as he did so. There was a ripping sound as the Flag was severed down the middle, and then there was a silence.

Abegail prompted Gunter up the ladder, following up directly after him. Her lungs hurt with the effort but she had no desire to pause. They came up into the street and did not get far. A shadow that manifested into a familiar figure appeared in front of them.

“Bastard.” Abegail hissed through clenched teeth. She placed her hand on Gunter's shoulder. She didn't want him far from her, she would not let either man lay a hand on him.

The building partially blocked him but there was no way Abegail would not recognize the man. She backed away, taking Gunter with her but got no more than three steps. They way was blocked but Adalwolf. The large man had made his way out of the underground room and hauled his sizable form up the ladder after them.

A string of curses burst forth from Abegail. Adalwolf moved towards them and they unconsciously moved backwards towards Niclas. Abegail stopped. They were cornered, they would have to get past one of them in order to flee from the other.

As if paying them no mind at all the two Nazi officers began arguing over the flag. Abegail shook her head in disgust. Greed and power, it was all the two men knew.

Gunter, echoing her own thoughts yelled enough and began to rip the flag in half. At once she was both proud of the boy and terrified at what the men might do to him now. Both cared not that he was young, all they would focus on was that he had the item they wanted and would stop at nothing to get. She couldn't let them come at just him. If they were going to attack it would be at both. Abegail yanked half the flag from the boy and held it in front of her.

“Ye take more step and we rip it again.” She stepped in front of Gunter, leaving him to hold the other half of the flag. Abegail now stood between the two men and Gunter. If they each had a piece at least the attention had to be divided rather than focused.

“Where are ye Walter!” Her mind scream. Abegail wasn't sure how long they could keep this stalemate up.

She gripped her piece of the flag, mimicking Gunter she placed it between her teeth and pulled, forcing a new rip to begin. Abegail looked at Niclas, her eyes challenging him to act. Her head whipped to look at Adalwolf.

Cold anger burned in her eyes. Her voice was very calm as she spoke, “Now, which one of you is going to move first? Either come closer and watch it destroyed further or move out of our way”

"Either come closer and watch it destroyed further or move out of our way”

Abigail's hopes for a clear escape were dashed as Gottberg began to laugh at the woman's threat to destroy the Blood Flag. "Dumme Schlampe, kann die Blut-Flag nicht nutzlos durch seine teilweise Zerstörung werden!" Came Gottberg's mocking reply to the female professors demands.

It was at that moment when Abigail spotted Walter peering over the oval shaped rim of debris which remained as an indication of a sizable hole in the ground. Walter had disarmed the two American soldiers which guarded the front entrance to the library, though the details of this tremendous effort had to wait for a more opportune time.

Walter only hoped that they would make it out this situation alive so that he could commence with a bit of tall-tale telling. There was certainly no room for frivolity at this point. Walter had also managed to wrestle one of the guards pistol's away from him.

"A bloody shoot out looks like the only way out of this one." Walter thought to himself.

Adalwolf had pulled from his pocket a small piece of the flag which he himself had torn from the larger portion. He began waving the fabric in front of Abigail's face, taunting her further. "Nein! nein!!" Came the scream from Niclas as he started to walk briskly toward the others, his pistol extended before him as he got closer.

Before anyone else could react Niclas discharged his weapon, again and again. Walter went to auto pilot as he climbed from the hole and tried to make his way to the large Nazi-Tossing his own weapon at Abigail's feat as he dove for Adalwolf. By now Niclas had almost completely emptied his pistol into Gottberg's chest. Niclas suddenly stopped in his tracks directly in front of Abigail and Gunter as he watched the other two men wrestle about on the ground.

Apparently even a small portion of the Blood Flag could sustain ones life and enable the possessor to resurrect himself. Gottberg was putting up a pretty good fight for someone who was just shot a half dozen times.

BANG!!

Niclas fired a single shot straight up into the air, the sudden blast had disrupted the fight between Walter and the bulking Nazi.

"Enough!!" Niclas commanded.

What happened next would greatly effect everything as Walter ripped the small fragment of the Blood Flag from the hands of Adalwolf. The large bloodied Nazi collapsed to the ground, Niclas looked on with a horrified realization plastered upon his face-The person who is to be resurrected with the Blood Flag must be in possession of it at all times.

Everyone else was surprised as well, but fortunately Niclas was able to regain his baring faster then the others, in one swift motion Niclas yanked the half-portion of the flag from Gunter's hands.

He then placed his pistol with its one remaining bullet against the young boys forehead. "Drop the Flag....Female!!"

Abegail had no idea what the man said but she sneered at the tone. Her eyes moved quickly, there was movement.

Her heart jumped into her throat. “Walter.” She couldn't say anything, Abegail had no desire to alert either of the Nazi's to Walter's presence.

Adalwolf pulled something out of a pocket. Abegail breathed heavily at him. Niclas' voice made her jump. The gun he was waving at them all concerned her. She was right to be worried as shot after shot rang out. Her eyes went wide, unsure for a moment who was being hit by the bullets. As Niclas got closer, Walter appeared. Something hit her feet.

The whole scene was moving in slow motion. Abegail blinked. Walter and Adalwolf were wrestling on the ground. Niclas had stopped in front of her. Abegail frowned and looked down. There was a gun. It occurred to her that what had hit her foot. “Walter...ye wonderful man...”

She crouched slowly, not wishing to alert Niclas but he seemed more concerned with the two men on the ground. Her hands wrapped around it just as Niclas shot his gun into the air. Standing slowly, she held it behind her back.

Things stopped, Walter yanked the fragment of flag from Adalwolf's hand and the large man finally stopped moving. Quicker than expected, Niclas regained his senses and grabbed Gunter and half of the flag.

Abegail's teeth clenched, one hand gripped the half of flag she had tighter and the other the gun behind her back.

“Drop it?” She stepped towards him. “You can't take it from me yourself? Have to use a boy as best me?”

She saw Niclas' nostrils flare.

“What is the matter, not able to take a piece of fabric from a woman?” Her tone was calm, no hint of her accent and she held the flag in front of her just slightly. “Come on? What are you waiting for?”

With a slight yell Niclas shoved Gunter off to the side and stepped closer to Abegail.

Abegail didn't really register her actions. Without thinking the gun came out from behind her back, she tossed her half of the flag at Walter and stepped closer to Niclas.

Shots rang out.

Abegail grabbed the piece of flag that Niclas was holding. The element of surprise was on her side. The flag in hand, Abegail kept firing.

By the time she was done, the gun just clicking she and Niclas were face to face.

Niclas' fingers flounder for the flag, his eyes a mixture of confusion and anger. He fell to his knees and Abegail took a step away from him. He had no chance to reach the flag. Niclas crawled slowly towards her and Abegail stepped back again, watching him move towards her.

Finally he fell, laying on the ground in the alley unmoving. Abegail stood there looking at him, her mind struggling to come to terms with exactly what had gone on. Her hand still held the gun, the other hand the flag.

She looked towards Walter and Gunter.

Abegail was still looking at the two when shot rang out.

“I am out of bullets....who? Where?”

Abegail eyebrows knotted together, confusion clear on her face. She looked at Gunter. He wasn't bleeding. Walter? No he too looked unharmed. “What?”

Something was burning her. Abegail dropped the gun and put her hand to her chest where the sensation was building. She looked down. Her hand was red. A slow realization spread on her face. Abegail dropped to her knees. Her right hand pressed to her chest, her left with the flag clenched in it was on the ground and holding her up.

Her breathing was ragged. Her mind fought to catch up with reality. “Shot....Walter...I...”

Abegail moved to press her left hand to her wound. She shook her head and began to toss the flag away. She couldn't remember why she had the material or why she was still holding it. She needed a doctor, something to help. Her hand was coated in her blood. Her shirt was wet and sticking to her.

“Need to stop the bleeding.....”

Gunter stared at Abigail, wondering what she would do. He did not look panicked or worried, just calm. The gun against his head was still hot from the shots at Adalwolf, its one bullet filled with deadly potential energy. Gunter jumped away as Abigail fired her weapon into Niclas over and over. The gunshots seemed like they would never stop. But they did. And then there was an awful silence, broken only by Niclas' dying gasps. Gunter looked at Abigail, then at Walter, and he let go a breath that he now realized he had been holding in. A smile slowly spread across his face and he started a nervous laugh. They had won. Finally, they could burn the flag and go back to life as normal. Finally, they could -

BANG!

Gunter jumped out of his skin and covered his head with his hands. Was he hit? He didn't feel any pain. But he might be in shock. No, he wasn't hit. Who was hit? He looked frantically at Walter. No, he looked fine. Abigail? "No..." Gunter breathed as he saw a red blossom of blood spreading on Abigail's breast.

'Shot....Walter...I...'

"Fraulein McHugh!" Gunter shouted and rushed to her. He shook his head in disbelief. No... They had won. It was over. Why couldn't it be over? And now Abigail was dying. She started to throw away the flag, but Gunter siezed her hand and closed it over the piece of fabric. "No, you must keep it. Hold on to it as long as you can. It will keep you alive."

'Need to stop the bleeding...'

"Yes, yes, we will." There were tears in Gunter's eyes. "Just stay with me, Abigail. Don't move. And hold that flag." Then Gunter got up and walked over to Niclas' corpse. He pried the gun with its one bullet from the nazi's stiff fingers and walked over to Gottberg, who was still lying on the ground where Walter had left him. "Er bestimmt dies für du sowieso." He spat, then he planted the bullet right in the large nazi's head.

"This is not happening!" Walter screamed in his mind before he dropped to his knees at Abigail's side.

"Abby! Do not let go of the Blood Flag." Walter yelled to his nearly unconscious colleague.

Walter could not believe the speed at which the situation had deteriorated, Abigail was laying on the dirty concrete of the narrow alleyway, she was bleeding, dieing, but she had the flag.

One of the downfalls of the flag's power is that it only raises the dead, which meant that Abigail had to in fact die before it would reveal its mystifying powers.

For some reason Walter's mind had become distracting by something which he had only caught a glimpse of during his tussle with Adalwolf. Walter's confidence in the powers of the Blood Flag was suddenly called into question.

"That Tricky bastard!!" Walter exclaimed in a whisper to himself-Now rising to his feet and walking over to the body of Gottberg Von Adalwolf.

Falling to his knees once again Walter probed the dead body of the large Nazi. 'Whats that? What is he wearing." Walter then pulled open the bulking corpses shirt to reveal something which Walter had heard about but had never actually seen.

"He is wearing some kind of bullet.........resistant.........Vest." It was then that Walter and Gunter, and even the half conscious Abigail learned that Adalwolf didn't have as much faith in the flags abilities as he had proclaimed.

Then came to horror of the realization, Walter was now not so certain that the Blood Flag would function as had been claimed in the legends. Walter's head whipped to the right as he gazed upon the limp frame of his fellow academic-For whom he had developed some of those - More then friends - feelings for.

The next few minutes were filled with tears, uncertainty, and dread as Walter and Gunter stood by and watched Abigail McHugh die from the gunshot to the heart.

Still on his knees in front of Adalwolf's corpse Walter could not bare it any longer, his head now hung low as he wept. This day seemed rife with irony, first there was the discovery of Gottberg's special vest, the second being the disproportionate size of the swath of fabric which the deceased Adalwolf had torn from the Blood Flag.

The hole in the flag prior to it being divided into two pieces was much larger then the piece now lining Walter's front trouser pocket. Gottberg had possessed only half of this portion of the Blood Flag, the other half had been used in a Nazi medical experiment prior to it being smuggled out of Germany.

The test subject was right there on his knees beside Gotterg's lifeless body.

Walter had not been chasing Niclas Elberich around the world for the entire year in which he was absent from Marshall college, he had been dead.

Walter had caught up with Niclas a mere 3 weeks after he had left Ireland, having been shot in the head by his enemy and left for dead. That is until Nazi scientists and doctors got a hold of his corpse, for it was then that they began to experimented with Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

The Nazi had a much better use for it however, the idea was to graft non organic materials into the bodies of humans-Explosives and such. This was exactly what had been done to Walter during his year of absents, though he was not aware of this fact, and this is how he remains.

The weight of worry and dread were suddenly vanquished from the minds of Walter and Gunter-The legends concerning the healing properties of the Blood Flag were indeed true. In a matter of a few moments Abigail's life threatening wound began to heal-Although still very weak Abigail slowly regained consciousness.

Overcome with joy and excitement Walter didn't even bother to get up on his feet, he instead crawled over to Abigail on his hands and knees and immediately took her hand in his.

Abigail was alive, but she now had a terrible burden to bare, she must remain in possession of a piece of the Blood Flag in order for it to sustain her life functions-If only they were aware of the procedure which Walter had gone through a year ago.

Voices, muffled behind the slow thudding of her own heart. Her hand was warm and wet. She realized she was dying, she could feel it, everything slowing down. Gunter had her hand, squeezing her fingers around the flag.

“It will keep you alive.”

Abegail nodded and gasped. It was too late. Her heart was slowing. Gunter appealed for her to stay with him. She looked at him wide-eyed. He moved away and she didn't have the strength to watch him go. She looked down at the ground. Abegail stared at the flag that was still in her hand.

A shot rang out, Abegail jumped, causing blood to ooze faster between her fingers. She thought someone was shooting her but there was no new pain.

The world around her became dimmer. She couldn't focus but Abegail became aware of a presence beside her. She body grew weaker and she barely registered the fall to the ground. Abegail laid out on her back, the flag in her hand.

Her eyes focused on Walter. She wanted to talk, to say something to ease the look on his face but the words wouldn't come. Tears stung her eyes. There was so much to say and yet....

Walter moved away from her. Again there were voices but Abegail closed her eyes. Tears ran quietly down the sides of her face.

A moment of clarity as she heard Walter say that Adalwolf was wearing something to stop bullets. She wanted to laugh. Hold the flag they said. Abegail bunched it up in her hand. Her laughter was raspy and harsh, her tears flowing freely.

All that, rumours of this powerful flag and the man had been wearing something to help him stop dying, even he didn't believe his own fanaticism.

Her laughter turned into a cough, making her body baulk. Abegail was suddenly very exhausted. “Walter.....I am tired....I wish I had a shot of scotch to help me sleep....”

She smiled weakly and closed her eyes. Her breath left her body and Abegail laid dead in the alley, clutching the flag.

Her shirt was wet. Abegail frowned. Her eyes fluttered. She frowned more as she looked up at the sky. “Walter?”

It wasn't long before a hand clutched hers hard.

She was still holding the flag and it took some time for Walter to make the Irishwoman understand that she had died and now the flag was all that would keep her alive. The three moved from the alley, eventually finding a place to settle for the night and some clean clothes for Abegail.